Childproof caps for preventing children from gaining access to potentially dangerous products stored within different types of containers are generally known within the safety closure art. Many inventors have devoted large amounts of effort to developing childproof caps. Despite the great effort expended by such inventors, the structure and operation of known childproof caps which are adapted to prevent children from gaining access to products stored within a container have many drawbacks which render them ineffective and undesirable.
Thousands of unnecessary emergencies arise every year because of young children who accidentally come into contact with potentially dangerous products stored within various types of containers. For example, a wide variety of household products such as cleaners, insecticides, paints, cosmetic aids, and the like are stored within aerosol cans. These products are generally used by spraying them directly onto their intended target. This can be a quick and efficient way for dispensing such products from a container. However, these types of dispensers can also be extremely dangerous since many of the products can cause serious injuries if they are improperly applied to the eyes, lungs or skin of a person or an animal. This danger becomes even greater when unprotected aerosol cans are left within the reach of young children.
Many other potentially dangerous products are stored within containers which dispense such products through a valve and which have a valve rim thereon. These products include various gels, hair products such as mousse, and other cosmetic products which are retained in pressurized containers other than aerosol containers. Since these products may also be toxic, it is desirable to prevent young children from having unsupervised access to them.
As can be appreciated, the size of the barrel of the pressurized containers in which many of the foregoing products are stored can vary from relatively small to relatively large. For example, some products, such as oven cleaner, are stored in aerosol cans having a relatively large diameter barrel. On the other hand, mousse and other hair gels are often stored in a pressurized container having a relatively small diameter barrel. Despite the differences in the barrel sizes, the valve rim is generally one standard size. In particular, a well known standard size valve rim has an outer diameter of approximately 1.29 inches.
Thus, there is a great need for a universally adaptable childproof cap to prevent young children from gaining access to the potentially harmful products stored within pressurized containers having a standard sized valve rim and various sized barrels. Efforts have been made, prior to this invention, to develop childproof caps for placement over the dispensing mechanism of various pressurized cans. However, these efforts have been largely unsuccessful because the known safety caps are not universally adaptable, are too expensive to manufacture, are too difficult to remove from an associated container, or are ineffective for a variety of other reasons. Examples of known prior art safety caps having one or more of the foregoing drawbacks include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,493 to Pehr; 5,040,694 to Gambello; 4,662,542 to Vitale; 4,576,315 to Vitale; 4,353,483 to Pehr; 4,133,448 to Balfanz; and 3,964,634 to Jasinski et al.
It is evident from all of the drawbacks that exist in the safety cap art, that there is a considerable need for a new and improved universally adaptable childproof cap to prevent young children from gaining access to potentially harmful contents stored within various sized pressurized containers having a standard sized valve rim thereon.
The present invention solves all of the aforementioned problems and will greatly benefit all individuals who are concerned that young children may injure themselves by dispensing various contents from pressurized containers.